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{
    "localId": "213875851",
    "label": "National Security Council Report 17/2, A Report to the National Security Council by the Executive Secretary on the Internal Security of the United States",
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    "id": "213875851",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875851",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "National Security Council Report 17/2, A Report to the National Security Council by the Executive Secretary on the Internal Security of the United States",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/213875851",
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        "President's Secretary's Files (Truman Administration)",
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 13,
            "logicalDate": "1948-08-13",
            "month": 8,
            "year": 1948
        }
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{
    "seq": 4,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/truman/hst-psf/602191/750596/750596-03-004.jpg",
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    "ocrText": "August 13, 1948\nYONT IDENTIAL\nREPORT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL\non\nARCHIVES SERVICE\" RECORDS ANO\nTHE INTERNAL SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES\nCONTRACT\nTHE PROBLEM\n1. To prepare specific recommendations with reference to\ninternal security in the light of the discussion at the 17th meet-\ning of the National Security Council.\nANALYSIS\n2. The National Security Council at its 17th meeting con-\ncluded, among other things, that the existence of the conditions\ncurrently prevailing in the field of internal security is attri- -\nbutable in some measure to the lack of any mechanism of over-all\ninternal security coordination (see NSC 17/1).\n3. In the discussion of this subject by the National Securi-\nty Council at its 17th meeting, the following four types of co-\nordinating mechanism were mentioned. The advantages and disad- -\nvantages of each of these types are briefly analyzed below:\na. Assignment to one Agency of exclusive responsibility\nfor the over-all internal security.\nFrom a purely administrative point of view, this proposal\nwould in theory have merit. Internal security, however, is\na condition rather than a mission. The rolative degree of\ninternal security will be determined by the manner in which\nthe various Departments and Agencies carry out their individu-\nal responsibilities, for example, for issuance of visas; con-\ntrol of customs and immigration; complying with the Loyalty\nProgram; apprehension and detention of disloyal citizens and\nforeign agents; handling of classified information; handling\nof armaments contracts; control of the visits of foreign offi-\ncials to military, industrial and other installations; physi- -\ncal protection of vital governmental, industrial, public\nutilities and other installations, etc. Responsibility for\nconducting all of these many activities in a secure manner\nobviously cannot be assigned to one Agency. Moreover, cen-\ntralization of responsibility in this manner is foreign to\nour democratic system since it would endanger our traditional\nprocedure of checks and balances.\nNSC 17/2\n- 1 -"
}